~Sydney~



So, back to Australia. After my weekend of partying and hitting a giant factory outlet mall, on Monday, Steve took me into Sydney CBD to see the sights. We rode the train in, I was surprised to find that all trains in Sydney are double-decker (why can't they just do that in Japan, we always have to stand!)

So, once we reached Town Hall station, we headed for the 1,000ft tall Sydney Tower, and spied on all of Sydney down below and around us. (Sydney Tower is that gold evil tripod-looking thing towering over everything in the photo above)







Looks like Sim City.



Harbour Bridge in the background...





Anzac Memorial and St Mary's Cathedral, Hyde Park



The Olympic Stadium







Lots of watery views!

After our adventure up the tower, we went for a walk around Sydney, and I got stupid blisters from stupid new shoes.



Town Hall



!Happy Wall! (Stupid car...)



Can't escape Edinburgh, even on the opposite side of the world...



... Or Japan, it would seem. I found an entire mall dedicated to Japan, with restaurants, a bookstore, stalls, and this shop.



Chinatown

After exploring a bit, we headed to the scenic Darling Harbour





(Not the best photos, sorry!)





Darling Harbour is home to the world's biggest Imax movie screen, 8 storeys high.





It is also home to the Good and Evil showboats (or so we assumed)



After waiting forever at what turned out to be the wrong ferry stop, (they weren't very well signposted) we hopped on a ferry headed to Circular Quay.



On the way we saw a pirate ship!



And a submarine!



And Luna Park!



Some pretty views...



The famous Harbour Bridge...





... And the Opera House, which we paid a visit to (outside) after disembarking at Circular Quay.

I will add more Opera House photos later!

'Today at Ritsumei'

(An interruption to Australia...)

~Heathcote~

An Encounter with Nature



I woke up on Saturday morning to the same oven-like heat to which I had arrived the day before. But I didn't mind, Sam, Matt and the dog took me for a walk in the beautiful (if not sometimes a bit charred) National Parkland that surrounds the house. It was what I had been waiting for... Australian Trees!











The area really was what I wanted to see - all the weird trees and insects that I could ever need. And to add to this, there was a river too, I didn't have my swimming stuff with me that time, but we returned a few days later and I got my swim then, in amongst all the slippery slimy rocks, darting fish, and lurking lizards.














The Party



That night, once I was back and all freshened up, it was time for the party, a night that the boys had organised and to which they had invited all of their friends from McDonalds. Who all thought that I was 16 years old. Anyway, Guitar Hero was popular that night...



... Apparently I had a go, but the fact that I was drinking for the first time since New Year, coupled with the intense heat, mean that my memories of the night are closer to what you see above.



I do, however, remember sitting in the garden, taking this, and marvelling in its arty coolness.

... It was impressive at the time.